Independent game studio Drop Bear Bytes, in partnership with Versus Evil, have an all new demo of their upcoming isometric RPG Broken Roads on Steam. This will give players a taste of the post-apocalyptic Australian Outback odyssey ahead of its release later this year on PC, Switch, Playstation and Xbox platforms.
Broken Roads is a narrative-driven RPG that brings exploration, strategic turn-based combat and meaningful philosophical choices to an all-new Australian post-apocalyptic setting. This demo puts players in the role of the Hired Gun, one of four origin stories available in the final game. Your starting story impacts your reputation, how people interact with you, and even where you begin your journey and which locations will be available to you. In the full game you’ll be able to choose a different origin story, including that of a Jackaroo, Surveyor or member of a Barter Crew.
For demo purposes, all moral choices will be visible. In the full game however, some of these will be hidden based on how you roleplay your character – though there will be a settings option to unlock all these for those who prefer to play that way. Your companions and other key characters each have their own hidden moral leaning, and will react to your statements, choices and general attitude based on their own world view.
“We decided to reveal all moral choices for this demo to give players an indication of other paths you can take when you create a character with a different world view,” said Craig Ritchie, Game Director at Drop Bear Bytes. “Broken Roads is a dense game, with each character having their own set of values. We want each NPC’s world view to reveal itself slowly as they react to the player, so your choices affect not only the path through the game, but how much you learn about – and connect with – the game’s cast.”
Broken Roads skillfully blends traditional and all-new role-playing elements on top of a classless system offering near-unlimited character development options built around four philosophies: Humanist, Utilitarian, Machiavellian, and Nihilist. Furthermore, the game presents players with an original morality system: the Moral Compass which sees dialogue options and questing decisions influence, and be influenced by, a character’s philosophical leaning and the tough choices they make along the way.
Broken Roads’ locations are all authentically recreated from the team visiting towns and landmarks in Western Australia and taking photos, videos and audio recordings for it to be as true as possible. Furthermore, even the game’s atmospheric soundtrack composed by Tim Sunderland is produced with instruments constructed from everyday objects which brings a wholly unique and distinctive tone to the game.
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